The subject matter described herein relates generally to sporting events and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for communicating with sporting event participants.
At least some know sporting events, such as team-oriented athletic events, involve different participants that perform distinct roles during the event and that receive direction during the event. For example, an athletic game may include a plurality of athletes that receive directions from one or more coaches. The coaches may direct the athletes to perform specific plays at specific times. In at least some known athletic games, the coaches are often separated from the players by a distance that makes oral communication of the plays to the players from the coaches difficult and/or impractical. Moreover, athletic games such as football are often played in stadiums or other venues that may be filled with spectators, and a noise level generated by the spectators can also impede communication between coaches and players.
At least one known device for communicating from coaches to players uses a radio system contained within a player's helmet. The helmet may contain a radio receiver that communicates with a radio transmitter used by a coach. However, if the spectators or noise within the stadium are too loud, the player may still be unable to hear communications from the coach. As such, plays communicated by the coach may not be received or may be misunderstood by one or more players.